Toy airplane



H. T. KINGSBUR'YA Nov. 3, 1931.

Nov. 3, 1931. H, T, klNGsBURY 1,830,363

TOY AIRPLANE Filed June 19, 192e 4 sheets-Sheet? en i Patented Nov. 3, 1931 irEDjfsr/S* HARRY VKinosnum?, vor KEENE, NEW 'HAMPSHIRE ToY VAIRPLANE application ineay June '19,

.'Thisinvention relates to improvements in toy airplanes, and ,more particularly con-- cerns 'details of construction and assemblage of such devices. v One ofthe objectsA of the'present invention yisltoprovidey a toy airplane having a light sembled, and to vwhich the undercarriaga body portion *withy its-members rigidly aswings, elevator'andru'dder members may be quickly and elastically attached, and'frorn disconnected for ease in which they may packing. y f

VAnotherV 'obj ect of the present invention is 'to provide improvements in the'y under# vcarriage construction and assemblage 'withl respect to thev body whichfenables a simple f and cheap manufacture of this portion, and an ease in mounting upon the body, along v with a' functioningelasticityin such mannerthat when theplan'e comes tolgroundfthe underframe and associated parts vyield tothe impact -without breakage. p

elastically mounted upon ,the body to prevent breakage upon :encountering `an obstacleidur-,

y till another object oftheI invention isfan improved elevator ,andv rudder assembly which is elastically mounted-upon. the body' yand adjustable so that the parts may yield Y afs-necessary,andfmay` be disassembled or folded for'packing, and in which therudder member may be adjustedto determinethe dito provide asimple ofthe propeller.

j. rection of flight;

Another object of the present inventionis AAnotherobject of the' invention is to provide fsimpleand rigid brace meansifor 'thet body.r tofenabl'e .itto' support the strain of the band motor vand of impactjof `any 'part ofthe device withtheground or an obstacles Still another objecty of the :invention isgolt'o" provide a simplek and cheap-mountingfor reanwheel, so that thetfoy airplane will re'-,

Ak further object of the Linvention is theV ,and 1cheap construction" 1929,' seria1No.372,12s.

quire less power 'and less distance of travel when running for a take-off; f l With these and other objects in viewas will appear in the course of the following specification `and claims, illustrative examples of the construction employed have been v set forth on the accompanying drawings, in

which:

Figure 1 is a'plan view ofthe assembled airplane.y Fig. f2 is a corresponding side' elevation. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal' section substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, upon an' enlarged scale and showing the propeller mounting, and the undercarriage mounting. bis a similar'y vertical longitudinal section substantiallyon the line l---tV of Fig.` A1 and showing the wing construction and mounting. A

Fig. `5Qis" a similar vertical longitudinal section on line 5-'5 of Fig. 1 through the ele# vator plane. v l

Fig. 6 is a corresponding'vertical' longitudinal1 section substantially on line G-Gof Fig.'1 throughy thevbody and central portion ofthe'wings.'

Fig. 7- vis a perspective view indicated in partial section of the edge protector. Y Fig. 8 is abottom plan view of a reinforcing'rib for'the wings. f i

Fig.'9 is a detailed perspective vview of a portion of the-undercarriage assembly.

Fig.' 10 is a vertical transverse section substantially on lines 10-10 of Figs. l and 5.

' Fig. 11 is a plan of a modified form of rudder construction, mounted on the elevator.

Figi 12 is a perspective view 'of amodiliedv n form; of lundercarriage assembly.

two 'spars 10,"11'which extend longitudinally thereof andare-slightly bowedfrom endto e'nd'so thatA their greatest distance apart is substantially 'at` the Ipoint of attachment of the wings; At th'efront ends of the spars 10,

V11` arejoined by a sheet vmetal 'clip 12 which Inthe' drawings, the body comprises the A provided with an aperture for the passage of l A the driving shaft 15 for the propeller. 'The sleeves 13 at their rear ends have each a projecting ear 16 spaced Afrom the lower surface of the respective spar Y 10 or 11. Intermedia-te the Vlength of the'spars they are pro-V vided with a cross brace 17 likewise formed from sheet metal with reinforcing flanges and provided at Ythe ends with the sleeves 18 which are Vfitted about the respective spars 10, 11 and preferably are held thereto by inden# tations 19 which depress the inner wall of the sleeve 18 into the lstructure of the respective spar. The iconnecting part of the -metal brace 17 is ycurved downward' to afford clearance for the band motor M.

20 which are spaced from the lower surfaces o f the spars 10, 1l. I

nected by a `clip 21 having the vsleeves 22 formed `at the ends thereof to receive `the spars 10, 11 and be fixedly yconnected thereto.

The endsof the sleeves 22 project beyond the ends ofthe spars, and the inwardly directed faces of the clip are at this point perforated tofreceive the axle pin 23 of the rear wheel R, which is received between the sleeves 22 in the U-shaped clip 21 (Fig. 1), while the'walls` of the sleeves 22 arecrimped down to preventlengthwise movement ofthe pin 23. The

, central,portion of the U-shaped clip 21 is provided with two apertures through which passes'theixedrear stay 24 for the `band inotouM, as shown in. ig.5, whereby this stay isjprevented from movement aboutits own axis. i a A i The undercarriage comprises the axle'shaft 25 which passes through the front wheels F sol that these wheels may rotate freely therearound,fand is provided withbentends to prevent thewheels from coming olf this axle.

The undercarriage l strut constructiongcom- Y prises a single piece of wire, substantially..

symmetrical about the central vertical and longitudinal axes ofthe airship. yThe-forward ends of the strut wire are kbent inward andvthenwupward to't closelyaround the spars10,v11Y (Figs. 1' and 3),"being received between` the ears '16 andthe respective spar 10vorf11. The strut wire extends relatively outwardly, Y rearwardly j and ydownwardly froin'its forward end connection, to form thec front struts 26, and then is provided with a plurality of convolutions 27 loosely'surround- Ving the axle 25so that the axlemay turn with` in these-convolutions as ina 'bear-ing. vFrom Y these convolutions the strut wireextendsup- 'i f so wardly, rearwardly and inwardly'toforrh the rearstruts28, atthe upper ends of which thev wire portions just vdescribed vrare joined byV the integral bridge `29 having a relative down wardlyA convex curvature to 'avoid the Vband f' motor M, and being provided with loops to ,tit between the earsQQ andthe respective 'sparsy Y v y n The forward i ends of the sleeves 18 are provided with ears` jformed of wire withsymmetrical ends Veach comprising a bent portion 31 terminating in an eye-32 fitting about'theaxle 25.Y Y

The wire strut member is formed so that the Vconvolutions 27 act as a torsion spring to force-the strut-.members 26, 28 relatively away from one another in Fig. 2, so that when the -underca'rriage 1s removed from the body, 1t

preferably has the struts 26 and28 substantiall'yfinl afpl'an'e foi1 easy packing. To assemble the undercarriage to the body, the struts 26, 28 are compressed beyond the position shown inkFig. 2, and the rear bridge 29 2 Y is slipped between the earsA 2O and the Vspars @The'orear ends of the spars 10, 11 are con- 10, 11. The front 'ends 26a are then slipped between the respective clips 16 and spars 10, 11. The torsional effect of the convolutions .27 will now hold the undercarriage ixedly to the body. In. alighting on .the ground, the

weight ofthelbody coming upon the `struts 26, 28 will force the convolutions 27 downward slightly, with a springy yielding ofthe vaxle 25: the stop member 30' prevents the Y Y The wing'assembly comprises the two syin-` metrically formed wing surfaces 33, 34which 1 are concaved upwardly as usualand are preferablyforinedof thin veneer wood. The front edges of these Wings are protected by;

reinforcing strips 35 formed of sheetmetal in channel shape to fit around thefrontedges of the wings and being provided with the rearwardly extending lugs 36') having in- Y turned prongs 37 biting into the wood of the wing structure itself. The curvature ofthe wings is preferably maintained by the pro! vision of channel-.shaped sheet metal ribs 38 igs. 2 and 8) extending for the fullwidth of the wing and having ends 39 bentA over the edges of the wings' to holdftheseribs fixedlyin position andfto produce andinaintain:V the desired concavity or air-,foil suction.v

.*Theftwowings 33, 34 are1joined vat their centersata diedral angle. by thethin sheet metal A plates 40, 41 which fitiover and Vunder e.

the surfaces of the wings. One of these plates is forced out of plane to'fiormthefeyeletsg42. which pass .through corresponding apertures in the wings'and in the other -plate,'andare clinchedu-pon the other plate, as shown inl Fig. 6.* This' produces Ya very simple, flightV fand cheap. assemblage. At the front edgesof.

the wing, itiislikewise provided with an ad justingfplate 43`offslfeet` metahtwhieh con-f1 l Aforms to the shaping of the lower surface-of ,I ed transversely across the spars 10,y 11'j at a 15distalnce apart which is z'substantially identithe 1wings at this'point'e'an'dtofthe,die'dral angle=`therebetvveen and @is 'provided with `*a downwardly 1 and j rearwardly extending lange 44 'tostien {the' same and tosupport this'edge-of Vthe `wing slightly above the rear edgeat alljtimes; It is preferred (Fig. 6) toi cause the metalv eyelet 42a formed at thef 10` frontA hole'to passy throughv an aperture-in the plate'43 and thus hol'dthe latter in position'fin a simple manner; Y

" VLight'n wood blocks 745" are'floose'ly mountcalwith the width oftheV wings.v 'This separation-lis 'maintained' by the ywingblo'ck wires f 46 rwhich* are imbedded at vtheir ends 4in these blocks, and have a slight upwardly convex curvature 'andresiliencyltending to draw the blocks fclose" together; :Rubber bands f are 'employedto hold theseblocks to the respective spars10f1j4and-'Y11, thev endless yband VVpassing with afloop"46a` beneath a respectiveV s'p ar, with lan extension 47 substantially vupf ward' andv ovfer a block 45, thence substanti- V, ally parallel-to theZ sparin a length 48, over andaround'the other block 45 andbeing comu pletedby "a loop '49 beneath thespar. It will be noted that since the rubber band'is under j elastic tension, it also tends to pull the blocks 45 slightly closer together, thus engaging them against the edges of the wing and holdv ing the-wing in an adjusted, position.

vThe elevator 50 is preferably a thin sheet of Y veneer wood cut-to appropriate shape and mounted `loosely upon the top ofthe spars 10, 11. The rudder 51 is likewise lpreferably of thin veneer wood cut to a desired shape and provided at its bottom with a sheet metal're-` inforcing member comprising the two lateral 'faces 52 which tightly clamp the lower Y Vedge ofthe rudder and are provided with the Jvears 53 in which indentationsf lmay be 'formed to lock the side plates 52 inposition.-

These. side plates extendV around the lower edge of therudder in integral channel form,

and project front and'backbeyond the edges v ofv the rudder to form the lugs 54, 55. The 50 upperl edges of the plates 52'at these points are bent over to form the'curls 56 which prevent Y* cutting of the rubber securing bands, while near these curls 56, the plates v52 are formedl with the downwardly and outwardly projectingieet V57 which rest upon the elevator 50 Vto support the rudderin upright position.

' beneath the respective spars 10, l11k and thence j inwardly and upwardly in afportion 61v pass- Thei elevator and rudderpmay be held Velastically in position upon the spars and with respect to one another by two rubber bands.

Eachof these bands is located to have a portion 58 over the top fof 'the elevator, termi-y nating in loops 59, 607aroundthe outside and ing. over the adjacentr curlV 56 and thence across' the frontV orbaek of the 'rudderaridextendingalong the :rudder in a run 62. 'It

will be-r noted that these (bands are disposed substantially symmetrically,'and operate by the portions 58-directly to hold the elevator uponthe spars, while preventing a movement of" the elevator about a'relatively verticalv axis, Aand bythe portion 62 operates upon the rudder toy hold the latter upright upon the elevator., 4and tol further assist in holding the elevator. upon-'the spars. The rudder may be easily rotated about "an axis passing throughtheylower portion ofthe plates 52 intoa position parallel to the elevator 50 for packing,withoutremoving or disturbing the rubber bands. f

' In;themodifiedform'of rudder construction shown in Fig. 11, the elevator-50a again serves' as the rest for the'feet 57a of the channel j member providing the two plates v52a between whichy is clampedthe rudder-proper 51a; In thisinst'ance, however, the front end of the channel terminates substantially flush with the front end of the rudder' 51a,

vwhile the rear end of this channel terminates. flush with the lower portion of the rear end of the rudder 51a. `The two-rubber bands are y -again'employed to hold the elevator 50a and therudder 51a; inposition, these bands being l placed beneath the spars 10, 11 and broughtY yupinside and outside 'of these spars so thaty theelevator can be slipped between the upper portions 58a of these bands, and then thefeet 57a ofthe" 'rudder worked in between, I"In either case, thelrudder may be adjusted abouty a relatively vertical axis by displacing its front end and rear end laterally, whereby the 'airship' may 4be 'caused to travel ina straight-away or curved flight,

-The propeller is ormedlfrom cally shaped'pieces'ofmetal 100r and 101 which,` for the major portion of theperiphtwo identi! ery of each has a rebentstiliening bead'102.

Adjacent the axis, however,this bead is omitted,#for example, '-on'plate'101 in Fig. 1- so thatjthe bead 102011 plate 100 may lap over the plate '101.- 'It willfbe noted that the vp'late 101 increasesin'size 'in each direction from' thelaxis of the propeller, sothat the' beadf'102 serves Ato holdfthe two plates 100 and'101 together; The 'symmetricity of this arrangement is indicatedin'Fig. 2, where the plate 101 has the bead 102a ittingfover the -endf100a ofthe plate 100.7 lEach plateA is formed, for a distanc'e'in each direction from ythe axis, witha bulging elevation 103V'which serves'` to vreiniorcefand 'stiften' the propeller at'this-point Iny this axis," the two plates 100,v "101- areso'constructedv and arranged las to receive the front stub shaft or spindlel for thebandmotor M: the extreme `front end 15a "of `this spindle being rebent for'the Vpurpose offpreventing "the 'spindlef15 being drawn rearwa-rdbyv the band motorg'andior securing `a "d-rivii'ig relationshipV -betweenthe lspindle .15. and the propeller. 1 The rearward end ofthe. spindle 15 is likewise formed wit-l1 ailoo, .152), preferably coveredwith a piece ofiru ,ber tubing', tor prevent abrasion andA` 53Tcutting, to ,receivel the Vfront end of the band -motor M. This bandmotor extends substan-, tiallyin the linelof the spars 10, 1l. It 1s carriedat its rear end about the hooklOl:` of A the .rear stubv sli-aft 24. The propeller con- 1.0i* struction ,has been described. and claimed in my divisionalV application Ser. No. 424,982, filed Jan. :an-1930.1

1- In Fig. 12 is shown a I'nodiied formjof con-,

structionof the axlegfassembly indicated in I5? Fig. 9, l In, this modified for1n, tl1e axle 25a is formed with rebent and offset ends to .re-J

Vceivethe wheels, this rebent portion 31a itself, providinga stop for limiting the spreadingmovement of theV coi-ls 27'joining the wire wstruts26and28. i

f It is obvious thaty the invention is not lim.-

ited to the forms` of constructiondescribed and shown, vkbut that such may be modied in many ways within the scope of the appended claims. .Y Y Y YVhat I claim as new anddesire to secure Y byLet-ters Patent is: Y v,

1. In a toy airplane, body spars, transverse 'v wood blocks, wire members Vholding said elblocksA spaced apart and permitting a resili-K' Y entmovement ofthe blocks away from one. v

another, and rubber bands extending around the respective spars, over one of the blocks, Y over the .other block and then around4 the .355? spars again .whereby-to provide'. anfelastic mounting of theblocks onthe spars. f Y

" 2. In a toyairplane, body spars, wood blocks mountedtransversely of the spars, a

' Vmain wing mounted loosely between the and rubber bands passing around 'the-'spars andblockstoestablish a resilient frictional pressure Vagainstthewing to-hold. it in ad-Y justedposi'tion.

w5- 3. In a toy airplane, amain wing com- Y prising a -righthand and aleft hand part, Y upper and lower metal platesto holdthe parts blocks and V i'rietionally engaged therewith,

angle of incidence,: andneans to fastenv said.

tie means engaging said spars and said rud-V elevator and sparstogetherp y Y 8. Y Inv a Ytoy airplane', `body spars, an elevader feet and projectionsf-to`hold said rudder,

'tor plane'resting on said `body spars, va rnd-- der, laterally projecting rudder feet` restingV on said elevator plane, sa'id-rudderand` elevater plane being .movablerelative Yto one another .and to the spars, and elastic means passing over the rudder feetand elevator plane and beneath the spars forholding said rudder, elevator Lplane and spars together. In testimony whereof, I aifix'my signature. 'I.l KINGrSBURY.

togetheroneofsaid'platesliaving holes` the other of nsaid plates havingeyelets passing i f` "other plate whereby to hold the parts and plates rigidly together. Y

through'- holesin the wing and said holes in Y the otherlplate and beingclinched upon saidY j 4f. kIn a t'oyairplane as in claim` 8 in which a braclretofmetal is provided to determine an angle of incidence for the,y wing, said metal bracket havingl holes therein, the eyeletsof`V saidother plate passing through saidholes whereby 'said bracket is fastened rigidly to s aidwing.V f Y Q55. Ina toy airplane,.bodysparsa 1nain v wing mounted on said body spars Y and ineludingel meta-l lbracket extending" downward from'the front edge of said wing and, adapted "Y105ctdengagesaid'sparswhereby todeterminean i Y* loo 

